People often ask about the importance (or not) of working closely with a teacher. One can benefit greatly from general meditation instruction, but personalised guidance from someone who knows you and your practice well can be deeply helpful.
In this session, Martin speaks about approaching teachers for guidance and about the dynamics of the teacher-student relationship; the promise, the potency, and the possible perils and pitfalls.
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In order to live a more full and integrated life, we are welcome to acknowledge our strength and our fragility. Our silenced parts, the places that scare us and our shadows, with the right attitude and right view, can serve as a catalyst to our liberation. Holding dear our humanity as well as the liberating…
This week’s topic is “New Year Habits and Hindrances”. In this week’s sessions we’ll explore how engaging with the Buddha’s teachings on the ‘5 Hindrances’ can help establish or deepen the habit of a daily meditation practice.
If you’re new to meditation, this framework offers ways to engage with common challenges we may face; “I can’t sit still’, “My mind is just too busy”, “I’m just not sure if this is working”.
If you have a consistent, established practice, revisiting the hindrances can be a gateway to access deeper levels of concentration (samatha), and the subsequent, often profound, insight (vipassana) which follows.
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At various times, it can feel like meditation practice has become routine. That nothing is really moving or deepening. However, there are many ways to consciously potentize your practice. In this class at the wonderful new Sangha Live website, Martin explores various different ways of doing this. We also look beyond meditation, to three ways…
This week’s topic is “The Steam of a Cup of Tea: Teachings on Generosity, Gratitude and Renunciation”. Can we achieve happiness and wealth by giving? Can we experience abundance through simplicity? In this exploration, we’ll examine how such concepts are possible in today’s world by delving into certain aspects of the 10 Perfections (Paramis), all while embracing our perfectly imperfect nature.
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Gregory writes: “Obviously our Dhamma practices infuse our lives (if not, something is amiss). We don’t usually talk about how this flows the other direction: the qualities we develop in our personal and professional lives strongly impact our Buddhist path. That’s what I’ll be speaking about, drawing examples from my own life in music, inventing,…
This week’s theme is: A Path With Heart . A week of morning practice together, exploring dimensions of loving awareness, including the depths, the vulnerabilities and the liberating expansiveness of the undefended heart. Our Dharma Library thrives through collective generosity. Your donation helps sustain this offering for our entire community.
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Wisdom and compassion are two wonderful qualities that grow in us as our practice deepens. Diving into each one and into the inseparable nature of the two reveals the way in which they support and give rise to one another, and the way they manifest in our relationships: with ourselves, with others, with the world….
This week’s theme is “Timeless Presence in Daily Life: Being Yourself, Being at Home”. This week we will be exploring the possibility of being grounded in the depth of timeless presence in the midst of daily life. How to live a full life from silence and emptiness? How can we feel at home in our own skin and in the very circumstances of our life? How can we awaken an awareness and a heart that embraces life, dukkha and beyond? The grace of presence reveals the possibility of settling in reality and living with ease.
Discussion